Anthem for doomed farmers

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, has just issued a survey on incomes of farmers in the EU member States. Since last year the income of Maltese farmers has fallen by over 21%. The average income of farmers in the rest of the EU rose by nearly 7%.

What is even more shocking is the fact that this survey shows that the income of Maltese farmers has fallen by 28% since 2005.

This is certainly not what the farmers were promised by successive PN governments in 2003 and 2008. They were promised heaven on earth: massive EU funds would make them prosper; they would have a new market of 400 million where to sell their produce; their local market would be protected and agriculture would be modernised.

According to PN propaganda, agriculture was to be given priority for two reasons:

-        Environmental; as productive farmers would be the best way to keep our fields and countryside.

-        Local food production; which is strategic for the needs of the country.

These promises have all been betrayed. Labour Agriculture spokesman Tony Agius Decelis was right to say that the Eurostat survey shows how difficult and hard it has become for Maltese and Gozitan farmers.

He was right to blame government for not giving agriculture the priority it deserves.

There is a popular, sad song 'L-ahhar bidwi f'Wied il-Ghasel', which is about the last farmer being left alone in valley. That song is fast becoming the anthem for doomed farmers abandoned to a cruel fate which sees them working harder and earning less.

We need to reverse this trend and give farmers and this country a new hope. Successive PN governments have failed the farmers, even if they are traditionally considered part of the core PN constituents.

It is up to the Labour Party to save farmers and agriculture in Malta and Gozo and give them a new future.

Fishermen betrayed

On Wednesday morning, the National Cooperative for Fishermen organised a protest march in Valletta. They feel betrayed by government and are concerned that their work and livelihood are seriously threatened. The Cooperative says that on 12 December 2011, they had a meeting with Fisheries Minister George Pullicino to remind him of his promises to them - promises that he has not delivered on.

The Cooperative says that instead of listening to them and explaining when he will be keeping his promises and addressing their problems, he started shouting at them and attacking them personally.

The National Cooperative for Fishermen called on its members to march down Republic Street in Valletta in protest as they feel that measures to be taken by government are a threat to their livelihood. These are some of the measures they are protesting against:

-        trawlers will not be allowed to fish for more than 150 days a year

-        fishermen with small boats will not be allowed to catch swordfish

-        fishermen with large boats will have to catch less swordfish and see their income reduced by 60%

-        lampuki fishermen will have to catch less lampuki as government wants EU to set quota

-        fishermen using nets will have to go at least two kilometers off-shore to use them

-        half of tuna fishermen are going to disappear as the 70 boats licensed to catch tuna will be cut by half to 35.
The Cooperative told its members to turn up for the protest march even if it is raining: "We must show we are not fair weather sailors and fight for our survival." Is it too late? Last week the Council of Ministers for Fishing met in Brussels and sealed the fate of EU fishermen. What did they agree on? Why do they meet behind closed doors and we do not know what they have decided?

63%: the worst is still to come

A survey carried out for Eurobarometer through face-to-face interviews between 5 November and 20 November 2011 while government presented its budget for 2012 concludes that 60% of the Maltese feel that the current situation of the economy at the national level is in a bad state. When they were asked the question: How would you judge the current situation of the economy? 60% answered with an unambiguous 'bad' and only 34% said that it was 'good'.

They were also asked about how they see the situation develop in terms of jobs. People who were interviewed were read this statement: "Some analysts say that the impact of the economic crisis on the job market has already reached its peak and that things will recover little by little. Others, on the contrary, say that the worst is still to come. Which of the two statements is closer to your opinion?" While 25% said it has already reached its peak, 63% answered that the worst is still to come.

As in previous Eurobarometers, responses about the situation of national economies differ widely between member States. While over three quarters of people in Sweden, Luxembourg and Germany say the economic situation is good, fewer than 5% share this view in Greece, Ireland and Spain. Overall, in the past six months, there has been a slight decline in those saying the current situation of the national economy is good to 28% (-2) and a slight rise in those who think it is bad to 71% ( 3).

There is a growing public realisation that the solution of the crisis will be a marathon rather than a sprint. Only 23% of Europeans feel that its impact on jobs has reached its peak, while 68% think the opposite.

Evarist Bartolo is shadow minister for education.